1. How are cities in your nations being affected by the changing climate?
Hello, I'm Daisy from Vietnam, my hometown is Ho Chi Minh city but I'm working now in Soc Trang, a province in Mekong Delta. Vietnam is one of the top 5 countries predicted to be among the most affected by climate change (World Bank, 2009). As most of its population concentrated along the low land coastline, many cities in Vietnam have already been affected by sea level rise. Big cities like Ho Chi Minh city, Hanoi have experienced urban flooding, especially after heavy rains, with river floods, together with high tide and bad drainage systems, lack of storage space for water (because of high coverage of concrete sealing in the cities). In past decade, a significant rise in weather extremes such as tropical typhoons, storm surges has been observed. Further challenge related to climate change is the urban heat island effect, which is clearly noticeable in the densely built center of big cities. Another problem is salt water intrusion, which has already been observed in cities in Mekong Delta.
2. How are your cities addressing climate change challenges?
Viet Nam has committed substantial government mobilized funds to tackling climate change, with the first major national policy framework committed over $50 million coming from domestic resources, in particular to respond to the impacts of climate change, initiated by the Ministry Natural Resources and Environment in 2008. In 2012, the country launched its “National Climate Change Strategy” (NCCS), which covers a range of vulnerability and low-carbon issues.
Links:
- Vietnam Assessment Report on Climate Change (UNEP, 2009)
- Addressing climate change in Vietnam (UNDP, 2011)
- Vietnam Climate Change Country Profile (World Bank, 2011)
No comments:
Post a Comment